Belgian Philippe Gilbert produced a late surge to win the 201.6km Quebec Grand Prix on Friday and make sure of the world No. 1 ranking at the end of the season.
“I was a little bit stressed because I only needed six points to take the ranking lead, but they were six hard points,” Gilbert told reporters after edging out Dutchman Robert Gesink and Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran in the second edition of the Quebec event.
Gilbert was six points behind Tour de France champion Cadel Evans at the start, but the Australian had already ended his season.
Photo: Reuters
The stress hardly showed as the 29-year-old Omega Pharma-Lotto rider attacked on his own in the last of 16 laps around Quebec’s scenic roads.
Gesink, winner of the Montreal Grand Prix and third in Quebec a year ago, was one second behind Gilbert.
Uran finished nine seconds adrift, rewarding his Team Sky for an excellent collective effort.
With 17 wins this season, including a Tour de France stage and the prestigious Fleche Wallonne, Amstel Gold, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Clasica San Sebastian, Gilbert deserved to end the season in top spot.
However, the best one-day race rider in the world said he still had targets to attain.
“I already said I wanted to win all the major classics in the calendar. I still have three more to win, Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix,” Gilbert said.
“The Giro d’Italia leader’s pink jersey is another goal. I have won stages in the three big Tours and held the leader’s jersey in the Tour de France and Tour of Spain, but not in the Giro,” He said.
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
There was another win for Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday, but more misery for Liverpool and their under-fire manager, Arne Slot. While Arsenal accelerated their title charge with a 2-0 victory over Brentford to regain a five-point lead, Liverpool needed a late own-goal just to salvage a 1-1 draw with Sunderland AFC at Anfield. Slot is back under pressure, with his team languishing in eighth place in a disappointing title defense and his decision to leave star forward Mohamed Salah out of the starting lineup for a second straight game likely to be heavily scrutinized. “It’s clear that teams that play
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
RSS